The present invention relates to display systems and display programs for electronic musical instruments and, in particular embodiments, to display systems and display programs for displaying a piano roll and a keyboard on a display screen, displaying the piano roll according to an automatic performance, and displaying the appearance of keys being depressed according to key press and key release information.
Conventional display systems are known for graphically displaying automatic performance information for carrying out an automatic performance. One method of this graphic display is the simulation and screen display of a so-called piano roll, paper on which automatic performance information is recorded for carrying out an automatic performance.
A piano roll is a roll made of paper in which automatic performance information is perforated, attached to a organ-type music box or player piano. Produced since the middle of the nineteenth century, these rolls have a construction such that they are fed sequentially, the perforated portion is read with air pressure, and hammers and the like are activated accordingly.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication 2001-51586 discloses a system for displaying musical notes such as on a piano roll as a performance instructing device. This system displays the range of operation of keys from key depression to key release on a scroll bar, while the scroll bar rolls down in accordance with reproduction of a song. The performer is instructed with regard to the timing of key depression and release.
Also, a display system for an electronic musical instrument is conventionally known for displaying a keyboard comprising a plurality of black and white keys on a display screen, and displaying key depressed and key release states based on key depress and key release. information.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication 2003-177753 discloses a system for storing images of the depressed and released states of each key of a keyboard, and switching between displaying an image showing the depressed state when a key is depressed and an image showing the released state when a key is released.
However, when a performance tempo is set in various typical systems for displaying a conventional piano roll format, the scrolling speed at which the piano roll is displayed is changed according to the value of the set performance tempo, which differs from a real piano roll, causing an unpleasant sensation. In further detail, with a typical real piano roll, the speed at which the roll is fed is fixed, and when the performance tempo differs, the length of the holes corresponding to the musical notes perforated in the piano roll differs for the same musical note lengths, and the intervals between holes corresponding to notes differ.
Furthermore, with a typical player piano system using actual piano roll paper, rewinding and fast forwarding of the roll paper is done at a predetermine speed, not instantaneously. Furthermore, when starting or stopping rewind or fast forward, or when rewinding and fast rewinding, a sound was generated of the machine operating. However, with conventional devices for displaying with a piano roll format, that rewinding is carried out instantaneously and no mechanical sound is generated, which differs from a player piano performing an actual piano roll and can result in a lack of a sense of reality.
Embodiments of the present invention may be devised to provide display systems and display programs for musical instruments capable of realistically simulating a player piano for carrying out an automatic performance by means of a piano roll.
Furthermore, with typical conventional display systems for an electronic musical instrument, the speed of depression of a key and the speed of releasing a key are not simulated. Instead, the switch from the key released state to the key depressed state and conversely from the key depressed state to the key released state tends to occur instantaneously, so the display differs from the movement at a predetermined speed as with an actual keyboard. Consequently, such conventional displays can result in an unpleasant sensation and a lack of a sense of reality.
Accordingly, further embodiments of the present invention provide display systems and display programs for musical instruments wherein the display of the key state changes at a speed corresponding to the key depress speed and key release speed.